Orioles' Kim Hyun-soo may start next season in minors
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Kim Hyun-soo of the Baltimore Orioles hits a fly ball to left field against the Atlanta Braves in the top of the first inning at Champion Stadium in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., March 2 (KST). / Yonhap
By Baek Byung-yeul
Korean baseball player Kim Hyun-soo, who joined the Baltimore Orioles in Major League Baseball (MLB) this season, is likely to start the new season in the minors.
The Orioles’ general manager Dan Duquette said Tuesday that Kim won’t be included in the team’s 25-man roster for opening day.
“I think from our perspective, we had a couple of players do real well in spring training, and it looks like they’re going to be helpful to the team to start the season,” Duquette was quoted as saying in the Baltimore Sun.
The local newspaper said that the general manager’s comments end lingering speculation about Kim’s future, as the Orioles have been quiet amid Fox Sports’ report on Sunday that the team may try to release the 28-year-old outfielder, who struggled in his first MLB spring training.
During spring training, Kim was at bat 44 times and had eight hits, two RBIs and three runs. While his performance during spring training looked to be below expectations, his biggest competitor Joey Rickard is likely to secure the team’s left field spot as the 24-year-old has a batting average of .390 with seven RBIs, 14 runs and five stolen bases.
Duquette said on a MASN (Mid-Atlantic Sports Networks) broadcast that Rickard would get the chance to play as the left fielder on opening day. “Buck (the Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter) tried him in left field and he made good plays everywhere. And it seems like he gets on base twice a day. He’s even stolen bases. He hit a home run. He showed extra-base power. He just looks like a good player.”
Kim was excluded from the starting lineup for three games in a row during spring training. The Korean player was excluded from the game against the Atlanta Braves at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., Wednesday (KST). He also didn’t play against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Monday, or against the Boston Red Sox, Tuesday.
The Baltimore Sun reported that Duquette has not discussed the decision with Kim yet, but said “that’s a conversation we need to have with him.”
However, the Orioles cannot automatically assign Kim to the minors as he has the option to refuse a minor league assignment.
At present, there are only a few options left for Kim -- either play in the minors, yielding to the pressure of the team, or hope for rebound to the 25-man roster.
Meanwhile, Lee Dae-ho, another Korea major leaguer playing for the Seattle Mariners, has made headlines for making the 25-man roster and refusing a lucrative offer to return to his former Japanese club.
“Lee’s inspiring back story impresses more than just the numbers in the box score,” a local Seattle newspaper, the Seattle News Tribune, reported Sunday.
Presenting Lee as a player who “brings a human-interest angle to a game that’s not overpopulated with players whose lives are interesting,” the article reported that Lee was raised by his paternal grandmother after his father died at the age of three and his mother was out of the picture. The article also reported that Lee took the challenge of getting into the majors, leaving behind his superstar status in his homeland.
Lee will serve as the right-handed complement to lefty-hitting first baseman Adam Lind.